


Like a Star I'm Burning

by Poison_Bubble



Category: Bravest Warriors (TV)
Genre: Body Swap, Catbug's Adorable Of Course, Chris Is Just Too Kind, Danny Angst, Danny Bottles Everything Till He Pops, He Doesn't Know What He's Doing Ok, I Love My Oblivious Gay Sons, I'm A Sucker For Those Ok, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 15:16:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16328462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poison_Bubble/pseuds/Poison_Bubble
Summary: Danny's always had trouble being honest with himself, though the habit's never really inconvenienced anyone else, so who cares, right? But as his Mami always used to tell him, the truth comes out eventually. In other words: I needed more Danny angst, so accept my trash and move along. Bless.





	Like a Star I'm Burning

**Author's Note:**

> So here's my first "official" fanfic!! I hope it lives up to expectations, as there's a definite hole where tons of BW fanfics should be.

_ “In the cold, inky darkness, in the middle of the night, one might mistake rain for Death. They fear he slowly approaches; and he leaves no sign of being where he stood. But why fear Death, I wonder? For Death is as much a man as I; though I suppose he is more vast, more of a mystery. That is what humanity fears. Not Death himself, but the Unknown within him. Yet I had no encounter with Death, so I could not tell you if he is one to fear. But I have had an encounter with the Unknown, child. The Unknown craves to be seen. It craves to be learned. And if the Unknown craves, my child… the Unknown will feast.”  _

  
  
  


Danny lay in bed, incredibly tired yet wide awake. He glanced over at the digital clock sitting on his nightstand: 3:23 AM. He sat up, rubbing at his heavy lids in vain. There was a soft pitter patter of rain sounding from the window to his left, but other than that, it was silent. He sighed.  _ Might as well get up….  _  He pulled his body from his bed, stretching his arms over his head as he headed toward his room's control panel. He turned a dial and the soft rain stopped suddenly. Now it was completely silent. He had initially installed the Atmospheric Window Panel to help him sleep, though it hadn't really helped. He'd had insomnia his whole life, but it had gotten worse in more recent years. 

 

_ Nothing a little tinkering won't fix,  _ he thought bitterly. He slumped down into his work chair, blinking slowly at what he'd been working on earlier that day. It was supposed to be a solution to Catbug's new moopy dilemma. Catbug had declared through scribbled writing that he wasn't going to say a word to anyone on the team until they stopped lying to one another. This took place earlier that week during a training sequence Beth forced them all through. And though Catbug's silence was problematic, it was declared a ‘minuscule issue,’ and was therefore shoved to Danny to fix. Of course. He was the least busy and least useful, might as well give him something to do. Danny frowned. But it wouldn't work. He shoved the invention off his desk into his inferno trash can, which gladly ignited his hard work in flames.  _ Stupid.  _ What did Catbug mean, anyway? They weren't lying to each other…  it was a teamwork exercise, and as far as Danny could tell, it was going great. 

 

Beth had instructed them to share their thoughts with one another through a new device she picked up from a distant planet. Simple enough. Something about ‘reaching infinite togetherness through the glory of no secret jazz,’ was preached before handing a small headpiece to each Bravest Warrior. They reminded Danny of intricate crown circlets, sorta like the one's those horse aliens wore. Everyone set their own circlet upon their heads willingly, glancing expectantly at Danny. He was going to put it on  _ eventually _ , he just…  felt off about it somehow. 

 

Danny bounced his leg sporadically beneath his desk. He didn't want to be a burden; he never did. But he always ended up being one in some way. He sighed as he gave up on solving whatever was bothering Catbug. He needed to clear his head. He pushed his chair out, standing abruptly. He briskly walked outside his room and down the hall; he knew where he was going. 

 

_ “Danny, my sweet child, do you know who they are?” The old woman pointed toward the stars, glorious and bright in the dark sky. “No, Mami, who are they?” The old woman chuckled and pulled the small boy closer. “They are Angels of Death, child. They are not to be feared.” _

_ “But they're scary!”  _

_ “They protect us. They are there for us when no one can hear you. They always listen, Danny.” _

_ “Are Mama and Papa up there listening?” _

_ “No, child…  they are not, and never will be.” _

_ “Why?” _

_ “The ones who choose to be deaf will remain so for all of eternity. But fear not, young one. I am here. And when I'm not, I'll be up there… listening.” _

 

Danny looked out into the vastness of space, gazing at the stars. He knew it was childish, but whenever he felt heavy with moop, he'd come here. His grandmother had once told him the stars were always listening. It stuck with him as a comfort. He never had anyone to talk to when he was younger, no one except Mami. But when she died…  he had no one. At least the stars would listen. 

 

“Danny? What are you doing up so early?” Danny jumped as Wallow came waddling in slowly, rubbing at his eyes. “Uh- I was- um…  what are  _ you _ doing up so early??” He fired back, leaning with his arm against the nearest wall. Wallow blinked sleepily, then nodded towards the floor. “Crypta likes early morning walks. Like.  _ Really _ early morning walks.” He sludged toward the snack cabinet in his slippers, seemingly unaware of Danny's nervous state. “Couldn't sleep, huh?”

“ _ Whaaat?? _ Psh, of- of course I-” Wallow looked at him while crunching into a wafer bar, completely unimpressed. “Nah…  not- not really.…”

“Look, bro, if you need some cuddly wuddly buds to help you catch some z's, you know my doors open.” 

“Right, right. Thanks, Wallow. I'll…  keep that in mind.” Wallow set a firm yet light hand on Danny's shoulder in reassurance. “Get some sleep, bud. You're worrying all of us.” He then gave a small smile and turned to leave. Danny thought for a moment. “Hey, Wallow?”

“Yea, bro?”

“Thanks, man….” Wallow's smile widened. “Course, buddy.” And then he was alone again. 

  
  


**_7 AM_ **

  
  


Danny had fallen asleep in the crook of the windowsill. He hadn't slept long. “Dude? Why are you sleeping in the kitchen window?” Danny groggily lifted his eyelids to see Chris standing warily to the side, leaning on the counter. He had a cup of steaming tea he was stirring more in thought than anything. “Huh?”

“The window? You're sleeping on the sill.” He pointed with his spoon, tilting his head. Danny suddenly jumped off, his balance too slow to give him a decent landing. He flailed his arms to keep him upright. “Aha, what? This? I was, uh…  checking for leaks?” Chris blinked. “Leaks?”

“Uh, yea, it's  _ bad  _ to have a window leak in space, ya know?” Danny smiled a bit too wide. Chris pursed his lips as he set his mug down. “Danny, you know you can talk to us, right? Wallow said you were up at 3 AM, dude. That's a  _ whack _ time to be out of bed.” Danny slumped.  _ Can't get past Chris's people reading skills, huh.  _ He rubbed the back of his neck in defeat. “Yea, well, guess I couldn't sleep last night.…” Chris smiled at the genuineness as he gently slipped his mug into Danny's hands. “Here, it's my special morning tea. It should help ya wake up a bit.” He then patted Danny's shoulder and walked out of the kitchen. Danny stared blankly where Chris had been standing. He took a sip of the hot tea and frowned. Tea didn't usually make your heart race, did it?

  
  


**_8 AM_ **

  
  


Beth was still very much mad. She had worked so hard to put together that ultra epic super duper training exercise, and of course Danny had to go and ruin it. She huffed as she pointed at herself in the mirror. “You're  _ not _ going to be passive like last time; you're  _ not  _ going to feel sorry for whatever shit he's got going on. You're gonna be mad, and you're gonna bring a bowl of  _ justice _ to the breakfast table.” She sighed as she lowered her finger in thought.  _ Hopefully Danny's little moop bump will be over soon….  _

 

“Knock, knock!” Beth turned her head towards the voice. “Oh, hey, Chris. Weren't you getting your special morning tea?”

“Yea, Danny looked like he needed it more though.  _ He fell asleep on the kitchen window sill _ .” He said this behind his hand, as if it were a secret. Beth frowned. “Youch. Do you think he slept at all?” Chris hummed. “Maybe 15 minutes. Who knows. Are you gonna try to get him to do the thought sharing?” Beth bit her lip as she thought about that.  _ You deserve at least an explanation, Bethany.  _ “I'll try…. I honestly just want to know what's going on with him…. He hasn't been sleeping as much as he usually does, he hasn't been eating, and I don't think I've seen him take the Danny Exfoliation Bath Experience for weeks! Something's definitely up.” Chris nodded. “I'm not sure he'd open up to us though, Beth. Maybe we should let this one stay private?”

“Maybe.… But I'm still gonna try.”

“Can't argue with that. Welp, I'm gonna head to the training room if you need me.”

“See ya Chris.” Beth turned back to her mirror as Chris left. She needed to prep herself on approaching Danny. 

  
  


**_8:45 AM_ **

  
  


Beth rounded the corner to the living room and put her hands on her hips, wide stance. Danny was on the couch, half heartedly playing Undertale on the Playstation. “Danny, we need to talk.” Danny sighed as he paused his game and turned his head, resting his chin on the back of the couch. He looked incredibly tired. “Is it quick? Cuz I've got to listen to my cells die.” Beth looked unamused. “Why didn't you participate in the training exercise last week?” Danny let out a long and exasperated groan. “You're  _ still  _ freaking out about that? It's been at least 8 days, Beth. Let it die.”

“Danny, you haven't shown up to any training days since! And Catbug's  _ still _ not talking.”

“You were the one who assigned me to fix that problem! Why won't you let me work in  _ peace?? _ ” 

“Maybe because I know you're not really working that hard on it?” She gestured obviously to the TV and the paused game displayed. Danny slumped further down into the couch, his attention no longer directed at Beth. He didn't say anything. “Danny, look. You need to get over whatever it is that's making you so moopy, alright? You're literally overreacting.”

“How do you know that technology is safe.” Beth could barely pick up on Danny's tiny question. “Sorry, what?”

“The headpiece. For the thought sharing. How do you know it's safe?” Beth rolled her eyes. “The rulers of Equestriaopolis optimized them for human use.” Danny scoffed. “And you  _ trust them?? _ ”

“Yes, Danny, it's called  _ diplomacy,  _ maybe you should try it sometime.”

“You're trusting the  _ horse aliens _ -” 

“Yes. I am. And choosing not to is very discriminative of you.” Danny rolled his eyes as he pressed continue on his game. Beth balled her hands into fists. She was done dealing with this.  _ Danny will just have to figure it out on his own.  _ Beth let out a frustrated sigh as she existed the living room to calm down. 

  
  


**_8:50 AM_ **

  
  


Catbug hid against the wall of the hallway as Beth stormed by. He was standing so very still to assure he didn't make her aware of his presence. He had been listening to their argument, writing the important facts down. So far, he had collected that Beth was mad that Danny wouldn't share his thoughts with everyone else; and that Danny didn't want to share his thoughts cuz the thought sharing device could be dangerous. Catbug squinted at his writing, humming affirmations in his head; (he couldn't talk out loud just yet.) _Hmmm…._ _Beth wants Danny to share his thoughts. Danny won't because the device could be dangerous. Beth is mad at Danny for not participating. Danny is not participating cuz of the device._ Catbug tapped his crayon against his chin like a super cool and super slick detective. “ _Aha!_ ” Catbug slammed his paws over his mouth. He couldn't talk yet. But he was close to solving everything. _If Beth will be happy if Danny does the exercise…  and if Danny will do the exercise if the device is safe…  then I'll just have to make sure the device isn't dangerous!_ Catbug nodded to himself. He had a mission. He was no longer a detective…  he was now a super cool and super slick _ninja!_

  
  


**_9 AM_ **

  
  


Catbug peeked sneakily into the crack of the door. He was checking to make sure no one would see his incredibly secret ninja work. But then, suddenly, an enemy! “Hey, Catbug. Whatcha up to?” Chris opened the door to the training room, tilting his head as Catbug scurried away from the room's entrance. “Still not talking, huh? Alright, I’ll see ya around, bud.” Catbug held his breath as Chris walked outside the training room, whistling down the hall. He let down his guard only when he saw Chris’s shadow disappear.  _ That was a close one….  _ Catbug relaxed as he slipped inside, making sure to close and lock the door behind him. And there it was, in all its glory: the casing for the Equestriaopolian headpieces. Catbug rubbed his paws together as he approached it, climbing the base and jumping onto the flat surface to get a better look.  _ Aha! Here’s their problem! _ Catbug shook his head and laughed under his breath. They had screws!  _ Screws in a headpiece!  _ He supposed they were so busy saving the universe they didn’t notice. Of course. Catbug began at his work; no screws, no red wires, (red was a bad omen,) no problems!  _ Danny would be so proud.  _ After he was done, he smiled to himself, paws on his hips.  _ Perfectly safe now.  _

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for sticking it out to the end!! I hope you enjoyed!! If you did, I'd love to hear it in the comments below!! And yes, this WILL be updated, so if ya wanna, check back sometime.  
> :)


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